🛕 Kecharis Monastery

Kecharis Monastery, is a medieval Armenian monastic complex dating back to the 11th to 13th centuries, located 60 km from Yerevan, in the ski resort town of Tsaghkadzor in Armenia. Kecharis monastery, formerly called Kecharuk, was built in the Ayrarat region of ancient Armenia, in Varazhnunk, the 18th province, which included much of the present-day Hrazdan, Sevan and Ijevan. In the time of the Arsacid dynasti, this province was a royal hunting preserve. It then became the property of the Varazhnuni family. As far back as the 1st century, the region belonged to the Pahlavuni princes and was called Tzaghkanots. Nestled in the Pambak mountains, Kecharis was founded by a Pahlavuni prince in the 11th century, and construction continued until the middle of the 13th century with its acquisition by the Proshian family. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Kecharis was a major religious center of Armenia and a place of higher education. Today, the monastery has been fully restored and is clearly visible from the ski slopes.